Online seminars open new window on deep-sea coral and sponge habitats.
Several species of deep-sea corals form an underwater garden 165 m (540 ft) below the ocean’s surface off the coast of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands. Photo credit: Alberto Lindner/NOAA
Scientists who have spent much of their careers peering out of deep-sea submersibles to learn about deep-sea coral and sponges recently turned their attention to the Web, watching each other share their experiences and expertise through an innovative series of online seminars.
The seminars, sponsored by NOAA Fisheries, are now publicly available online. They cover the latest research into the fragile corals and sponges that bring color, habitat, and three-dimensional beauty to the deep ocean floor, far beyond the reach of snorkelers or scuba divers.
The web-based seminars fostered new dialogue among researchers and revealed the wide diversity of their deep-sea observations. In some Alaskan waters, for instance, scientists have found dense accumulations of corals and sponges that appear in more isolated and sparse groups off California. The online conversations provided insights and raised new questions about how coral and sponge communities grow and evolve in various environments.
"These seminars were a great opportunity for researchers around the country to share information and experiences from their studies of deep-sea coral communities," said Mary Yoklavich, a research fisheries biologist and deep-sea coral researcher with the Southwest Fisheries Science Center. "These seminars have given us new insight into the ecological associations among corals, sponges, fishes, and the myriad of other marine organisms that make a living on the seafloor."
For many people, corals and sponges evoke thoughts of tropical paradise. However, the reality is far more diverse. Corals and sponges also thrive in cold, deep waters off the West Coast from Southern California to Alaska and elsewhere throughout the world's oceans. The online seminars highlighted intriguing differences. For example, in some areas off Alaska rockfish are commonly seen in association with coral or sponge habitat, yet off California this is rarely the case. Researchers want to know why.
"The better we understand these diverse and vulnerable communities, the more effective we will be at protecting them over the long term," Yoklavich said.
Download the seminars:
The videos files are large, so it is recommended to download them rather than view them in the web browser. To download, right-click the link and select save or download.
- Deep sea corals and sponges as EFH (and related ecological musings)
Peter Auster (University of Connecticut & Sea Research Foundation), August 14, 2014
[download video] [download PDF slide show] - Association of FMP species with emergent epifauna: Case studies from Alaska
Bob Stone (NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center), September 17, 2014
[download video] [download PDF slide show] - Associations of groundfishes and corals in the Southern California Bight
Mary Yoklavich (NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center), October 29, 2014
[download video] [download PDF slide show] - Deep-sea pennatulacean corals in the Northwest Atlantic: a nursery for Sebastes species and a habitat for other species
Sandrine Baillon, November 5, 2014
[download video] [download PDF slide show] - Groundfish, deep-water corals, and sponges: Examining diel patterns of fish-habitat associations on Heceta Bank, Oregon
Sean Rooney (Washington State University), November 19, 2014
[download video] [download PDF slide show] - Linking fish productivity to deep-sea coral and sponges in Alaska
Chris Rooper (NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center), December 10, 2014
[download video] [download PDF slide show] - Fishes associated with deep reefs in the western North Atlantic: New species, rare observations, and a characteristic fauna
Andrea Quattrini (USGS Southeast Ecological Science Center), January 21, 2015
[download video] [download PDF slide show]
Learn more about NMFS deep-sea coral and sponge research:
Contact: Michael Milstein, NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region
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